Cairn Gorm is a mountain in the United Kingdom. It has given its name to the whole range of summits of which it forms a part, though properly these hills are known as Am Monadh Ruadh (the Red Hills) rather than the Cairngorms. Although Cairn Gorm is the most prominent of the Cairngorm mountains in the view from Speyside it is not the highest, that honour falling to Ben Macdui.
Much of the north-western slopes of the mountain are given over to downhill skiing developments concentrated in Coire Cas. As well as ski tows and bulldozed tracks this corrie is also now home to a controversial funicular railway.
The next corrie south of Coire Cas, Coire an t-Sneachda, is separated from the skiing area by a ridge known as Fiacaill a'Choire Chais. The southern side of Cairn Gorm over looks the remote loch known as Loch Avon, which is generally regarded as the very heart of the Cairngorms.
The easiest route to the summit is simply to follow the ski tows up the centre of Coire Cas, however this route is unpleasantly scarred and for obvious reasons is not recommended as an ascent route during the skiing season. The ridge of Sron an Aonaich lying to the northeast of the skiing area avoids these problems. Alternatively, Fiacaill a'Choire Chais offers a good scrambling route (though most difficulties can be avoided).
There are many climbing routes at the head of Coire an t-Sneachda, and in winter this corrie is one of Scotland’s major ice climbing areas.
The CairnGorm Weather Station: weather conditions on the summit with pictures from lower down.
The rounded summit of CairnGorm is clearly visible from Aviemore with the dark forests of Glen More at its feet and the unfortunate scars of the skifield making it easily identifiable.
Continue from the summit of CairnGorm by dropping steeply to the south over stony slopes until flatter, more grassy ground is reached NW of point 1082.
CairnGorm lies at the northern end of the Cairngorm Mountains; a high and exceptionally remote plateau largely over 4000ft in height and segmented by deep north-south valleys.
CairnGorm is Scotland's sixth highest mountain at 4082ft or 1244m: the Cairngorms collectively also contain four other, higher summits culminating in Ben Macdui at 4295ft or 1309m.
CairnGorm can offer no mythical creatures, but it is sometimes home to a number of reindeer that can be glimpsed from time to time now that the upper parts of the mountain have lost some of the crowds of visitors that had been a growing feature in recent years.
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